DENVER — BYU guard Dallin Hall saw it all coming.
At BYU's team dinner Wednesday night, the veteran Hall sat next to the 19-year-old freshman point guard he backs up and told the teenager that he was about to have his finest hour as a Cougar.
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Then the embattled Demin went out and made it happen, scoring 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting as sixth-seeded BYU ran past 11th-seeded VCU 80-71 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game
at Ball Arena in Denver.
Demin opened the game with a turnover after getting trapped near half court, then was sensational most of the rest of the way. It was arguably his best game in a BYU uniform in his first game in an NBA arena — he was injured when BYU beat Wyoming at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City — and with plenty of professional basketball scouts paying close attention.
"I told him last night he was going to have a big tournament," Hall said. "I told him a lot of people have been saying things about you (that aren't true). But he is what he is said to be, and he is who he portrays himself to be. He comes in and works hard every day."
Demin made all three of his 3-pointers in the first half, helping BYU get out to a 39-28 lead at the break. He made back-to-back triples after BYU had fallen behind 10-6 and the makes seemed to inject life into a skitter BYU offense early.
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"It always feels great to see him going off and we like seeing those shots falling for us, and for him," said big man Keba Keita, who chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. "We are happy for him. Yeah, it was great."
Demin had two assists and four turnovers in 31 minutes, so there are obviously some things to continue to work on. But Hall said that Demin's play, when the Russian is going good, has a way of instilling confidence in everybody else.
"He is a leader, and an anxious learner, and a great teammate. I find a lot of joy playing with him, and am excited to see him have success. He earned it. He is a great player," Hall said.
"When I told him that last night at dinner (that he'd have a good game), he said, 'As long as we win, that's all I care about.' That's what he is about."
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In fairness, Demin's assist total was low because his teammates missed some 3-pointers they usually make. The rest of the Cougars were only 4 of 13 from 3-point range.
"Whoever gets him in the NBA draft is going to be very lucky, because he is really improving," Hall said.
Fellow guard Trevin Knell — 3 of 6, for eight points — said people don't know how much pressure Demin is feeling to live up to the expectation of being a first-round draft pick this summer. It should be noted, however, that Demin still hasn't said he's a one-and-done player.
Wednesday, he raved about how much he enjoys living the college lifestyle, and his time at BYU.
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"He has got so much on his shoulders right now. He feels the weight of the world on him. So, to be able to be a freshman point guard in the Big 12, now in the NCAA Tournament, all eyes are on him," Knell said. "I feel like he has handled it really, really well. He is a selfless dude. He is a Christian, he believes in God. He kinda does his routine.
"It is awesome to go through his process and leave it up to the Big Man and trust everything else. It was awesome. I was the first one off the bench, just screaming for him. Because he works probably the hardest guys on the team," Knell continued. "He has put a lot of time into his shot and it was awesome to see the ball go down."
What did Demin think of his performance?
"I think we have been talking about this so much inside of the team — just come here, nothing matters but the team," he said. "We can scout as much as we want other teams, but at the end of the day nothing matters. It matters how strong we get to the court, how much effort we give, and how much we want to win."
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Young said he "had a really good film session" with Demin before the game and they talked a lot about shot selection.
"I thought tonight the shots he took were all in rhythm," Young said. "He took one that was a little iffy. … The sky is the limit. He just turned 19. His feel is really good. … Tonight I thought his approach in terms of getting downhill early set the tone."
